RBI designates 20 offices across country to swap them
Banks will no longer exchange notes introduced prior to 2005. The Reserve Bank of India has designated 20 select offices across the country where people can directly approach for exchange of such notes.
However, persons having such notes can also deposit them with their bank and the bank will in turn send them to RBI.
According to press note issued by it, the Reserve Bank of India has observed that a major portion of the pre-2005 banknotes have been withdrawn from circulation and only a small percentage of these notes remain in circulation.
“On a review, therefore, the Reserve Bank has decided that from July 01, 2016 the facility of exchanging the pre-2005 banknotes will be available only at the following offices of the Reserve Bank of India: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi,” the statement reads.
The Reserve Bank of India had, in December 2015, set June 30, 2016 as the last date for public to exchange pre-2005 banknotes at the identified bank branches and Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank of India.
The Reserve Bank has also clarified that these pre-2005 banknotes will continue to remain legal tender.
The RBI has stated that it is a standard international practice not to have currency notes from multiple series remaining in circulation at the same time.
Soliciting cooperation from members of the public in withdrawing these banknotes from circulation, the Reserve Bank of India has urged them to exchange pre-2005 banknotes at the above mentioned offices of the Reserve Bank of India, as per their convenience.
The Reserve Bank of India will continue to monitor and review the process so that the public is not inconvenienced in any manner.
